Edward Bloor wrote a realistic-fiction novel called, Tangerine. This novel shows how a boy discovers the truths of his past and his present. The motif- motif is a symbol or element repeated throughout a story- of sight plays a role of understanding and truth throughout the novel. Through the motif of sight, Paul, the main character in this novel experiences a growing understanding of his friends, family, and himself. In the first group, Paul experiences a growing understanding of his friends. When Victor and Paul first meet, Victor is rude to Paul because he doesn’t understand that Paul could be a great soccer player. “You? You think you can play on my team? What do you think this is, Lake Windsor Middle School? You think that we gotta …show more content…
First off Paul’s mom is difficult to understand. She doesn’t see her responsibility concerning her or her family. She complains about things when she was the cause of it or the person who made it happen in the first place. This is shown when mom complains about the insecticide smell in the storage unit when she wanted to have the insecticide to get rid of the bugs. “‘Do you smell that, there is insecticide in here too’ ‘Yeah that’s life in Florida’ ‘Tell me about it, I hate that smell’” (208). Mom only sees what she wants to see but won’t see the cause of it. If the problem is her fault she will act as if it's not there. Mom doesn’t see that it is affecting Paul because of her not trying to help Erik change his ways with therapy and now Paul is being bullied because of what his mom didn’t do. Whereas dad doesn’t acknowledge Paul being in a sport and won’t even talk about the fact that Erik may have no future in football. “Mom asked quietly, ‘What if Erik has no future in football?’ Dad stared at her blankly, so she repeated, ‘What if Erik has no future as the placekicker for some big-time college football team?’ Dad let out a short, uncomfortable laugh. ‘What are you talking about?’” (234) “We locked eyes again. ‘How many games did I play in, Dad?’ He pulled back. ‘I don’t know.’ ‘What position did I play when I did get into a game?’ ‘How am I supposed to know that?’ ‘OK. Here’s one: How many field goals did Erik kick this year?’ He stared at me, then blinked rapidly. ‘All right. Your point is taken’” (233-4). Mom and Dad think that they are incorporated in Paul’s life when really, they are just in Erik’s life and thinking about Erik’s Football Dream. Leaving out Paul in almost everything makes Paul uncomfortable in family situations, left out and lonely when he is near his family. Paul finally accepts the fact that his parents care more about Erik and Erik’s career more than care about Paul. They